Mary Isaacson

rehabilitation

Background•What is Rehab Therapy?• Factors that affect outcomesWork Setting

Salary/Percentage of PTAs in Setting

Patient Types

Treatments/Techniques

Advanced Skills/Training/Recognition

objectives

Rehabilitation is for a person recovering from an illness, surgery, or serious injury. Rehab helps individuals to find new ways of doing activities/functions, relearn skills, or regain their strength.

It is important to start rehab as soon as possible to maintain or increase the patient’s chances of attaining the previous level of function. The purpose of rehab is to gain back the function that was lost.

A rehab PTA helps individuals with mobility, strength, and fitness.

background: what is rehab?

The outcome of rehab depends on the following factors:

• Sufficient supervision daily

• Individual’s commitment and motivation

• Limitation-what it is and extent of it

background: outcomes

Special Rehabilitation Units

• Rehabilitation Hospital

• Sub-Acute Hospital

Outpatient

Home-based

Nursing Facilities

Private Offices

work setting

Salary depends on position, geographic location, years of experience, practice setting, and the degree of education.

• $48,000 on average per year

Salary According to Experience:

• $38,500-$55,000

About 5% of PTAs work in rehabilitation services.

salary

percentage of PTAs in rehab

Age Group

Infants: 0.6%

Toddlers: 0.7%

Children: 2.7%

Adolescents: 3.0%

Adults: 39.3%

Older Persons: 53.6%

Systems

Musculoskeletal: 30.4%

Neuromuscular: 56.7%

Integumentary: 3.2%

Cardiopulmonary: 9.7%

Condition

Stroke: 20.1%

Joint Replacement: 11.6%

Traumatic Brain Injury: 10.0%

patient types

Assistive devices

• Eating

• Food preparation

• Washing/Personal Hygiene

• Dressing

Tissue manipulation

Exercises

Electrical stimulation

• Functional electrical stimulation

• TENS [Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation]

Thermal approaches

• Ultrasound

• Hydrotherapy

• Hot/Cold packs

treatments/techniques

PTAs can specialize in different areas of rehabilitation such as training in e.g. aquatics or having advanced skills with e.g. stroke patients.

PTAs can apply to be recognized in a specialized area of physical therapy. There is an application process with minimum requirements.

advanced skills/training/recognition

rehabilitation

http://www.apta.org

http://www.paincenter.stanford.edu

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rehabilitation.html

http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=13

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/poststrokerehab.htm

http://www.helenhayeshospital.org

http://www.traumaticbraininjuryatoz.org

references